


Let's get rid of some ghost

by WeirdV



Series: Wolf Mating Rituals [5]
Category: Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Murder, Mystery, Short Story, so they got to get rid of it, there's a ghost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 02:06:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1801456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdV/pseuds/WeirdV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a new temp at Beacon Hills high.<br/>Stiles doesn't trust new people, mostly because one of the last new teachers sacrificed a bunch of people.<br/>But it turns out they have some friends in common.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's get rid of some ghost

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to write this story because I got an idea, and it seemed fun to do :)  
> I hope there aren't too many typos (damn autocorrect isn't working again)  
> Anyways, enjoy!!!

Stiles leans back in his chair again, clearly bored out of his mind. They’d been waiting for 10 minutes now, and the teacher still hadn’t shown. Just when he turns to Scott to complain, the door opens and a woman walks in. She’s carrying a bunch of papers, half of them falling on the floor as she makes her way to the desk, and a shoulder bag with a laptop in it.  Her bright red hair falling over her shoulder and a wide smile on her face.

‘Hello, I’m Charlie. Uhm, miss Bradbury’ she corrects herself, and then shrugs, ‘Just call me Charlie, though!’

She puts her papers down and then pulls her laptop out of her bag and installs it. She looks around for a second, ‘Okay, I see everyone has a computer to work at! Good’ she smiles, ‘Are there any questions to begin with?’

A few pupils raise their hands and she points at one of them.

‘Are you single?’ he asks.

‘When I said questions, I meant questions regarding the subject!’ she says, a weak smile on her lips again as she rolls her eyes.

There isn’t much to the lesson, as it seems. They do their assignment, she helps where needed. Stiles, as always, is struggling with a certain part of the task and is solving it the only way he knows. By violently hitting the keyboard.

‘Wow, there kid! Easy’ she says, walking up to him, ‘What’s wrong?’

‘How should I know?’ he says, leaning back in his chair again and seeing Scott grin in the corner of his eye, ‘The stupid thing wouldn’t work anymore.’

‘Well, hitting it isn’t gonna work, you know’ she says, leaning over the keyboard and pulling it towards her. Stiles leans forwards again, but even though he tries to follow, all he knows is that her fingers quickly type in a few keys, she types in a few codes, and then the screen flashes and everything is back to normal.

‘Wow’ he stares at her,  ‘How did you do that?’

‘Well, that’s why I’m the teacher, and you’re the pupil’ she says, returning to the front of the class, ‘Okay, the bell’s about to ring, so save your documents on the T-drive and turn off the computers!’

Scott walks out with his friend, his focus already drifting to when Kira’s class is finished and when they can meet for lunch.

‘She was pretty cool, huh?’ he says, his friend nods absentmindedly.

‘It’s weird, though’ he says, ‘I don’t think she’s from Beacon Hills, how did she get here?’

‘Why does it matter?’ Scott asks, he turns towards Stiles and they stop halfway down the hallway as he sees the guy’s face, ‘What is it? Don’t you trust her?’

‘I’ve learnt that trusting people too soon gets you killed in this town’ he says, ‘Besides, think about it. Last time we had strangers here it was a Darach, then 2 hunters who came after me before realising they were stupid, and then evil grandpa Argent came to town too, not to mention auntie Kate.’

‘Okay, you might have a point’ he agrees, as they start walking towards their next class, ‘But Kate turned out more or less okay!’

‘Yeah, we got a cease-fire’ he says, ‘And I don’t think it’ll last much longer, she did kill Derek’s family… Malia’s family! I’m not going anywhere without. Well, nevermind. I still don’t trust that she-beast!’

‘Let’s focus on one thing at a time, Stiles!’ Scott suggest, Stiles nods and they go into the classroom, ‘What do you suggest?’

‘Follow’ he says, ‘After school. Maybe ask dad to run a background check?’

‘Yeah, that sounds okay’ he replies, they sit down together and Danny sighs as he looks at the pair discussing yet another mystery.

‘Not everyone is here to kill people, you know’ he comments, ‘Who are you talking about this time?’

‘New substitute’ Scott explains, ‘We don’t think she’s here to kill people… just making sure, you know?’

‘I guess’ he sighs, ‘Just leave me out of it!’

‘Sure thing, man’ he grins and they focus on class again.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Stiles ducks down as she passes them. They’d followed her to a motel at the edge of the town, after stopping at the grocery store and getting 2 bags of salt and a box of matches. She stopped before going in as her phone rang and fished it out of her bag, picking it up.

‘Charlie speaking’ she says, the ever-cheerful look on her face quickly fading, ‘No can do, Dean! I’m in the middle of something… Of course I’m being careful! What do you think I am, and idiot? Okay, bye.’

‘Did she just say Dean?’ Stiles asks his friend, Scott nods, ‘Do you think it’s Winchester?’

‘Got to be’ he says, ‘I think… I mean, they had a lot of salt too, right?’

‘Yeah, they use it to get rid of ghosts’ Stiles explains, ‘So, what do we do?’

‘I don’t know, nothing?’

‘Nah’ he smiles, stepping out of the car, ‘Let’s go introduce ourselves!’

‘Stiles, no’ Scott runs after him, but he already knocked on the door and she’s opened it before he gets there.

‘Hello, Charlie’ Stiles smiles, she raises an eyebrow.

‘Hi, weren’t you in my class today? Why are you here?’ she asks, ‘Did you follow me?’

‘Yes’ he smiles again, ‘Sorry. It’s just that, last time we had a new teacher she tried to strangle our friend!’

‘Owh’ she looks at Scott who just shrugs in response, ‘I’m not gonna strangle your friend!’

‘Then why are you here?’ he asks, ‘You’re too smart to be a teacher. And you bought salt, lots of salt, but you don’t have a kitchen at your motelroom and there isn’t any snow. And you just called Dean. Which leads me to only one conclusion.’

‘Does it now?’ she asks, once again a smile playing on her lips as she crosses her arms waiting for his explanation, ‘Do tell!’

‘You’re a hunter looking to vanquish a ghost, but you don’t want the Winchester’s to know because they’re probably real protective of you. Not a girlfriend, they don’t do that. Maybe you’re like a little sister to them? You’re not related to them, not enough physical similarities. And you’re not a supernatural creature. So yeah, I’m gonna go with hunter friend’ he says, she just smiles.

‘Supernatural creature?’ she laughs, quite convincingly, ‘I don’t know what you’re on. But maybe you should stop taking it?’

‘Hey, don’t worry’ he smiles, ‘I’ve met those brothers. We’re… acquainted!’

‘Really now? How?’

‘Well, they kidnapped me and tied me to a chair because they thought I was possessed by a demon’ he says, ‘It was fun at first, got boring real fast!’

‘What?’ she just stares at the kid, not sure what to think of him at all. She hadn’t been back from Oz for long, so she was still getting used to dealing with people who weren’t Dorothy. So dealing with teenage boys wasn’t her area of expertise, at least not when there weren’t any computers nearby.

‘Okay, I’m sorry’ he sighs, ‘I’m Stiles. What I’m trying to say is, if you need help, we can offer. We got a genius banshee, a kick as alpha, a gorgeous werecoyote and a druid. Just let us know!’

‘A Banshee? Really?’ she asked, unable to hide her curiosity, ‘What do they look like?’

‘Don’t know. Ours is a pretty young redhead’ Scott says, ‘Kinda annoying sometimes, a bit vain. But real smart!’

‘Okay, what about the alpha?’ she asks, ‘You mean werewolf alpha, right? What does he look like?’

‘Not as good as he thinks he looks’ Stiles says, a grin on his face as Scott stomps his shoulder, ‘Nah, he’s okay… sort of…’

‘What about you?’ she asks Stiles, ‘What are you?’

‘Nothing’ he says, ‘I’m just human. But my dad’s the sheriff, and I know how to clone ID-cards. So I do have some useful talents.’

‘Good to know’ she says, not quite registering it, ‘So, what do you want me to do now?’

‘Well, the plan was you tell us what you’re here for’ Scott says, ‘We assume a ghost, and since you’re teaching at Beacon Hills High, it’s probably there. But what do you know? How did you find out? And why didn’t we know?’

‘I don’t know why you guys didn’t know’ she says, ‘Sorry. I just read a few reports, did some research. They’re quite recent ghosts, died at the school, aparently. I read this article about some police deputy dying there a while back. Evidence says it’s her!’

‘Oh’ Stiles looks at Scott, ‘Tara.’

‘Yeah, Tara Graeme, you know her?’ she asks, he nods.

‘Yes’ he says, looking sad all of the sudden, ‘She, uhm. She’s a colleague of my dad. Was, I mean!’

‘Your dad’s a cop?’ she asks, Stiles shakes his head.

‘My dad’s the sheriff’ he says it again, this time more proudly, straightening his shoulders as he says it, ‘No worries. He knows about wolves, and supernatural crap. He also knows the Winchesters.’

‘Does he like them?’ she asks, not sure if she’ll like the answer.

‘Well, they kidnapped me. So, not so much. But they’re... on friendly terms’ he smiles and Scott checks his watch.

‘You got to be somewhere?’ Charlie asks him, Stiles sighs.

‘Kira?’ he asks, his friend nods, ‘You go, I’ll handle this one.’

‘You sure?’ he asks, Stiles nods again and Scott turns aroung and leaves.

‘Doesn’ the need a ride back?’ Charlie asks, Stiles shrugs and turns around to glance at his friend who runs into the woods.

‘He does lacrosse, he’s a fast runner’ he says, not ready yet to reveal his best friend is a werewolf. Although he had to admit, the urge to say “This is my best friend, the werewolf and alpha of his pack” has been there a few times.

‘Tell me stomething, Stiles, right?’ – he nods – ‘How come you know so many supernatural monsters if you’re just human? Why aren’t you hunting them?’

‘First of all – and this is very, very important – they’re not monsters. In fact, you’ve already met 90% of them today’ he says, ‘Second of all. I’m not a hunter. Sure, I’ll go after supernatural creatures, but only if they pose a danger.’

‘Like the ghost?’ she asks, he shakes his head.

‘No. I have to make sure first that she’s a danger. If not – then I’m not going to get rid of her’ he says, crossing his arms, ‘She was my friend. She helped me with my homework. She sat with me whenever I had to wait for my dad to finish his work.’

‘I get that she meant a lot to you. But sometimes ghosts get violent’ she looks at the kid. He’s smart, there’s no doubt about that, but he’s clearly not thinking straight about the matter. ‘There are different things for that, such as – ‘

‘I know that’ he sighs, ‘A violent death, unfinished business, the list goes on.’

‘Yes. And when a ghost – even a peaceful one – is stuck for too long they _will_ turn evil and violent’ she says, ‘Let’s talk inside.’

He follows her inside as she sets down her bags of groceries on a little table next to the door. The room is – well, it’s a motelroom. It’s small, it smells of sweat and other bodily fluids he’d rather not specify and it looks like the decor is from a 1950’s movie.

‘I get that. But instead of just burning her bones. Maybe – and call me crazy for suggesting this – we can find out what’s keeping her here. Get her revenge, her last request and she can move on as she should. I know she died violently, trust me. But still. She doesn’t deserve being stuck in limbo or whatever place they go when getting burnt’ he really hopes she gets it. She seems nice enough but she’s also friends with the Winchesters. And they’re a bit triggerhappy, he didn’t know how it transferred to their friends.

‘Okay’ she pulls out her laptop, ‘We’ll try your way first. But I’d need to do some more research on it first.’

‘Research is my thing’ he says, sitting down on the second chair next to ehr and taking his own laptop out of his bag, ‘Did you know that a lot of those movies and TV-shows have accurate information?’

‘Yeah, I noticed that’ she grins, ‘Weird, huh? Any new good shows out? I’ve been away for a while.’

‘Not really! Where did you go?’ he asks, typing in some terms in google.

‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you’ she says, he turns towards her – both eyebrows raised in surprise – hoping his look in convincing enough for her to tell, ‘Seriously, you wouldn’t.’

‘Come on. I’m a kid running with werewolves and banshees. Why wouldn’t I believe you? Did you go to Hogwarts or something?’ he asks, she laughs and shakes her head.

‘Better’ she grins, ‘Oz.’

‘Oz?’ he stares at her, ‘Like. The wizard of Oz, oz?’

‘Yeah. Flying monkeys and all’ she says, clicking on a few promising websites.

‘You’re right’ he grins, ‘I don’t believe you. Did you meet the witch?’

‘Nope. Well, yes. Not in Oz though, killed her with Dorothy’s red shoes’ she laughs, ‘She’s not here though. She’s at the Winchester’s.’

‘The witch or Dorothy?’

‘Dorothy.’

Stiles looks at her for a second and then decides to ignore it. So the woman was a bit nuts, couldn’t blame her if she’s friends with the idiot brothers. Maybe she underwent some sort of trauma and made it up as a coping mechanism, he wasn’t going to hold it against her.

‘Ok’ he clicks another link, ‘Found anything?’

‘Few things’ she says, ‘Nothing specific yet. You?’

He clicks another link, but before he can check his phone rings. Malia, he quickly picks it up.

‘Hi’ he waits for a second, ‘Fuck! That was today? Yes! I’ll be there as soon as I can. Yes, I’m still there. Okay, see you soon. Love you!’

‘Girl trouble?’ Charlie asks as he hangs up and closes his laptop, quickly stuffing it into his bag.

‘Girlfriend, yes’ he sighs, ‘I forgot we have dinnerplans. My dad even cooked for it, which never –ever happens. So I got to go.’

‘No problem’ she says, ‘Can I reach you somehow?’

‘Yeah’ he holds out hand and she gives him her phone, he quickly puts in his number, ‘If it doesn’t work. Just swing by the sheriff’s station and ask for the sheriff. You can trust him. He can even help, he knew Tara pretty well. See you at school tomorrow!’

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Stiles gets there just in time, Malia already waiting for him outside.

‘And?’ she asks, ‘Is she to be trusted?’

‘Yes’ he says, ‘I’ll explain after dinner.’

His dad had set up the dinner after finding the two of them in bed together. Well, finding that Malia had snuck into his room and spent the night. His dad wasn’t an idiot – he’s the sheriff after all – so he’d known that they were dating. But when Stiles had told him that he loves her, he’d insisted on the dinner. Sure, he’d told Malia several times he loves her so it’s not a big deal. But telling others you love someone is even more real.

They go in and take place at the table. His dad had gotten some help from miss McCall in the kitchen, so it wasn’t a complete disaster.

They sit together, the three of them around the table, in awkward silence.

It’s weird, because Malia and the sheriff know each other. They get along. When her father died she’d moved in with them for a while. They had spent time together while Stiles was at school. But now.

‘How was school today?’ he asks Stiles.

‘We got a temp’ he smiles, ‘Computer science thing. Miss Bradburry. Charlie.’

‘Charlie? You call ‘em by their first name now?’ he asks, a raised eyebrow.

‘She asked us to’ Malia clears up, ‘She was pretty cool. A whizz with computers. Pretty sure Danny asked her for extra lessons after class!’

‘Wouldn’t surprise me’ Stiles smiles, ‘She’s a bit crazy though. But most people are.’

‘I suppose we’re the last people to call others crazy’ she notes, ‘Being supernatural and all that.’

‘Yeah’ the sheriff sighs, ‘I guess you both know why I wanted to do a dinner tonight.’

‘More or less’ Malia bites her lip. She’s nervous to have this talk. She likes the sheriff – he was there for her when things were difficult. He helped her deal with the paperwork after her father died, offered her a place to stay when she wasn’t sure whether or not she was going to move in with Derek. He became a surrogate father to her in a way.

‘Because we’re more serious than you thought’ Stiles says matter of fact, ‘And you want to make sure we’re being responsible about it.’

‘Yes’ he says, ‘Are you?’

‘Yes’ Stiles decided to be calm about it on the way there. Acting like a kid and blushing about the matter wouldn’t help at all, ‘We use protection, we talk a lot. We’re not planning on getting married just yet, or buying a house together.’

‘But we will be getting a place together at college’ Malia ads, ‘Depending on whether or not we end up going to the same college.’

‘Yes. We decided not to choose a college on the basis of it being close to each other’ Stiles ads, ‘Anything else, dad?’

‘Yes’ he pauses for a while, ‘What are you going to study? I know it’s another year, but still.’

‘I’m gonna do either forensics or animal care’ Malia says, ‘And  Stiles always told me he wanted to do criminal law and become a sheriff like you.’

The sheriff looks up, completely surprised by the comment as he looks at his son, ‘Like me?’ he sounds a bit shocked but also flattered.

‘Well, yeah’ Stiles smiles, ‘You’re awesome at your job. And you know I love solving mysteries. I thought you knew I wanted to become a sheriff one day.’

‘You mentioned it once or twice when you were little. But I never thought you were serious about it’ he smiles, ‘Proud of you kid.’

‘Thanks, dad.’

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next day is normal, or as normal as possible. Malia and Stiles have only a few classes together, so Stiles mainly sits with Scott during the day. He catches his friend up on the ghost business, and Scott says he’ll let Stiles handle it.

‘It’s not pack business anyways’ he says, ‘So I’m not getting involved. Just. Don’t tell her about who’s who unless it’s necessary.’

‘Trust me, I won’t’ he smiles, ‘Malia’s coming with me after school though. Said she wants to check out this girl. Well, woman.’

‘Good. It’s not that I don’t trust her. But I’d feel safer if you weren’t alone with her’ Scott comment, Stiles laughs.

‘Yeah, thanks. How was it with Kira yesterday?’ he asks, Scott grins stupidly, ‘You know what – on second thought – I don’t want to know.’

The class goes quiet as miss Bradbury – or Charlie, as she prefers to be called – walks in.

‘Morning’ she smiles, a cup of coffee in one hand and her laptop under her other arm, ‘turn on your computers. You’ll find the assignment on your desktop.’

It’s noisy for a while as everyone starts muttering and turning on their computer. When Stiles opens his file, there’s a search assignment on ghosts and some information she already found.

He grins as he starts doing research.

He meets Malia for lunch, together with Scott, Kira and Lydia. It’s strangely familiar, yet odd in a way. Less than a year ago they would’ve been with more. Allison, Ethan, Aidan, Isaac,... But that’s not possible anymore. Stiles shakes his head to get rid of the thought. It’s something he does quite often nowadays – k shake the memory of his friends that are now gone – in order to keep going. It’s painful but necessary.

‘So, what have you been doing with the temp?’ Lydia asks as she takes a bite of her apple, ‘And why wasn’t I told?’

‘She’s here to get rid of a ghost’ Stiles chews his sandwich and swallows his bite before continuing, ‘She’s friend with the idiot-brothers. I offered her my help. She knows about the local pack – I didn’t tell her who’s in it, of course – and we’re working on it together. But it’s not about the pack.’

‘What ghost?’ Lydia leans forward, a frown on her face, ‘Probably at the school, since I can’t imagine someone voluntarily teaching here when they don’t have to.’

‘Tara’ he says, ‘the deputy. Remember? She was one of the Darach’s sacrifices. We’ve agreed to help her move on peacefully. If we can’t, we’ll burn her bones. But I’m hoping to avoid that, because she might get stuck in limbo.’

‘Good’ Kira says, ‘Cause limbo sounds like a sucky place. Just like Bardo.’

‘Bardo is a sucky place too’ Scott confirms, Stiles nods in agreement, ‘have you found anything on how to help her? I imagine you’d have to communicate with her somehow?’

‘That’s why I asked Malia to go with me after school’ he nods towards Malia as he takes another bite.

‘Yes. According to some theories supernatural creatures can see ghosts’ she says, licking the spoon of her yoghurt, ‘So we’ll probably break in tonight and test that theory.’

‘Maybe I can ask dad for a key’ Kira suggests, ‘So you won’t have to break in?’

‘That’d be awesome’ Stiles grins, ‘I’m sure that dad doesn’t want me to get an B and E on my record.’

‘You’re a minor. It wouldn’t be on your record. Besides, unless you plan on going into law enforcement, it doesn’t matter’ Lydia informs him.

‘I know. But I am planning on going into law enforcement’ he grins.

‘Yeah, maybe a key is better then’ she says, ‘But maybe Charlie has a key herself? She is teaching here after all.’

‘We’ll ask’ Malia smiles, ‘But first we’ve got math to get through.’

‘Crap’ Stiles sighs as he takes the last bite, ‘I’m so not ready for the test!’

‘What test?’ Scott asks, suddenly panicking.

‘No worries. It’s a pop-quiz’ Stiles smiles, ‘I overheard the teacher talking about it yesterday. So you couldn’t have studied for it. Well, you could’ve but – let’s just get to class.’

‘Keep us up to speed about the ghost’ Lydia says, ‘See you later.’

‘Bye’ the three take of to their math class and leave the two girls to discuss the matter by themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~

 

‘Hi’ Charlie smiles at the two kids as she lets them into her motelroom, ‘You must be the girlfriend?’

‘Malia’ she says, shaking the woman’t hand, ‘Stiles asked me to come. Some sort of reason I’d be able to communicate with the ghost better?’

‘Why is that?’ she asks, grabbing a pile of papers from the table nearby and handing them to Stiles.

‘Cause of the whole werecoyote thing’ she says, Stiles nods and Charlie looks puzzled.

‘What werecoyote thing?’ she asks before it dawns on her, ‘Oh. You’re a werecoyote? Wow. You’re dating a werecoyote?’

‘Yes, I am’ Stiles grins, placing a quick kiss on her cheek, ‘But that’s not the point right now!’

‘Right’ she nods as Stiles looks through the research he’s been handed, ‘All sites seem to say the same thing. Just talk and ask her. Although I suggest we bring some protection just in case she goes crazy.’

‘Good point’ Malia turns to Stiles, ‘She was killed by the Darach, right? One of the first sacrifices?’

‘Heather was the first sacrifice. First virgins, then warriors. So yes, she was one of Jeniffer’s sacrifices’ he puts the pile of papers down, ‘So she died a violent death.’

‘you know how she died?’ Charlie looks up at him, surprised by the new information, ‘Is that monster taken care of?’

‘Yeah. Deucalion slashed her throat. Then we had to get rid of Deucalion a while back, cause he want batshit crazy again’ Stiles smiles weakly, ‘But she’s gone. No worries about that.’

‘It does pose the question if she left any other ghosts behind’ Malia says, ‘A lot of people died violently. Maybe there are more...’

She stops herself from finishing the sentence as Stiles gives her a pained and meaningful look. He shakes her head, ‘No, she wouldn’t’ Stiles says, ‘She was killed violently, but she died peacefully. In the arms of her first love, remember?’

‘I heard’ she sighs, ‘At least that’s one thing. Let’s just focus on this. Sorry.’

‘No worries, babe’ he smiles again, ‘It was a good question. I should look into what makes someone a ghost. See whether there might be any other.’

‘I feel like I’m missing something here’ Charlie says, looking from Malia to Stiles.

‘Sorry. Our friend, Allison, she was killed last year. By the oni’ he explains, ‘But it’s not something that’s linked to this. So it doesn’t matter.’

Charlie nods, ‘Okay. Sorry for your loss. Sucks losing a friend that way’ she says, ‘Let’s go get rid of the ghost, okay?’

‘Yes, great plan. I’ll drive’ Stiles says, fishing his keys from his pocket, ‘Let’s get going.’

~~~~~~~~~~

As it turns out, they don’t need Malia to communicate with Tara. But Stiles isn’t too proud to admit that he’s glad she’s there. Tara’s image shifts before them, as if she’s a picture on one of those old Tv’s with bad reception.

‘Stiles’ she says, and it scares the shit out of him causing him to jump backwards.

‘Hi there, Tara’ he smiles weakly, trying very hard not to sound scared. She looks scary, she’s doesn’t look like she did in life. She’s transparant, covered in blood, wearing her uniform and her figure keeps flashing like it’s on static.

‘What happened? Where is everyone?’ she asks, Malia grabs his arm.

‘She doesn’t know she’s dead’ she whispers to him, Stiles looks at her wide-eyed.

‘How do we tell her?’ he asks quietly.

‘What happened? Where is everyone?’ she asks again, her voice sounding hollow and echo-y.

The two kids turn to Charlie, ‘We have to tell her’ Charlie says, ‘How else can she know?’

‘Okay’ Stiles takes a determined step forward, ‘What’s the last thing you remember?’

‘I got a call, and I came here’ she says, ‘What happened? Where is everyone?’

‘Everyone left. There was someone here, you told everyone to leave’ he explains, ‘Someone hurt you.’

‘Someone hurt me?’ she asks, flickering again and reappearing right in front of him and Malia.

‘You died’ he says, her eyes go wide.

‘No’ she says, ‘I can’t have died.’

‘I’m so sorry Tara’ he tries his best not to cry, but there’s not shame in it, ‘You didn’t deserve this. Not at all. You were kind, and loving and you didn’t deserve this.’

‘Why?’ she asks, her voice still hollow. Malia grabs Stiles’ hand tightly.

‘Someone sacrificed you to bring something here. Something bad’ he explains, ‘We stopped it. Beacon Hills is safe.’

‘My. My sister’ she flickers again, ‘No.’

Her figure stands there. Light at first, but then she goes dark and it is teriffying.

‘No’ the voice of Tara repeats, although she’s no longer visible.

There’s a scream – a loud, screeching and tormenting scream – followed by a gush of wind and closing doors.

‘What do we do now?’ Malia asks, turning to Charlie and Stiles.

‘We get the hell out of here’ Charlie suggests, ‘NOW!’

She runs, followed by the two teenagers and they don’t stop until they’re back in the car and on their way to the motel.

~~~~~~~~~~

‘So, what do we do now?’ Stiles asks, turning to Charlie.

‘We burn her bones’ she says, ‘I’m sorry, but that’s the only way.’

‘I know. Thanks for letting me try first’ he nods, ‘But there’s one problem.’

‘Which is?’ she asks, parking the car at the motel.

‘She was cremated’ he sighs, ‘Which means that – according to the research you gave me – she’s anchored here somehow.’

‘So a personal possession’ she says, ‘Any ideas?’

‘Only one’ he gets out of the car, followed by Malia, ‘Her badge.’

‘So we have to burn her badge. Where can we find it?’ Malia asks, ‘The sheriff’s station?’

‘No. It was given to her sister’ he says, ‘So it won’t be that easy.’

‘How are we going to get it?’ Malia follows the two inside, sitting down on the bed and running her hands through her hair, ‘I could go in and get it?’

‘What if you get caught?’ Charlie asks, ‘You’ll be arrested.’

‘I can just shift?’ she suggests, Stiles looks at her, nodding slowly as he contemplates the idea.

‘Shift?’ Charlie asks, to which Malia responds by giving a demonstration and shifting into full coyote form.

‘Holy crap’ she responds as the girl shifts back. Stiles looks proud – which Charlie just thinks is weird – at his girlsfriend and pulls her close for a quick kiss.

‘Bet you wish you had a girlfriend like that, huh?’ Stiles jokes, Charlie grins and shakes her head.

‘Nah, my girlfriend is pretty awesome’ she pulls out her laptop, ‘Let’s deal with this first, though. Her address?’

‘Jefferson high, number 22. It’s right by the sheriff’s station’ Stiles says, ‘her sister used to babysit me sometimes.’

‘That’s good. That means she knows you. You can go talk to her, distract her and find out where the badge is’ Charlie says, ‘In the meanwhile Malia can get the badge.’

‘Okay, when?’ Malia asks, checking  her watch as Stiles receives a text.

‘Tomorrow after school’ Stiles says, ‘Dad just sent a text. I got to get home.’

‘Okay, I’ll come up with a plan’ Charlie smiles, ‘You guys go.’

~~~~~~~~~~

The day goes slow, so Stiles is eternally greatful that it’s Friday. He’s also greateful that – if everything goes to plan – the ghost business will be dealt with tonight.

There’s a good reason for that. As of this morning, the presence has been undenyable. When they walked into class that morning, the desks and chairs had been thrown over, the word “no” had been scribbled on the board several times in different sizes and fonts and all the doors had been wide open. He was also greatful that the security camera’s weren’t there anymore and that he had made the ones outside the school unclear the night before – since the sheriff’s department was going with vandalism. Of course he hadn’t told Charlie or Malia about taking down the camera’s outside, it had been a last minute epiphany.

Of course that gave them extra reasons to believe it was vandalism, but at least they didn’t think it was the three of them. Charlie looks nervous during class, which he can’t really blame her for.

‘Stilinski, can I see you after class?’ she’s fidgeting and typing on her laptop when the bell rings, and he waits untill everyone leaves before he says something.

‘You got to stay calm’ he mutters, ‘Seriously, you’re acting suspicious.’

‘Well, I’m not used to this. Are you?’ she asks, still typing on the computer. He figures that it’s a coping mechanism for her, computer stuff.

‘Yes’ he grins weakly, trying not to sound too proud, ‘I’m the sheriff’s kid, and I’ve probably broken the law more than any other kid at this school.’

Charlie raises an eyebrow at him as there’s a short knock on the door and Scott walks in, closing the door behind him.

‘I overheard you guys talking’ he whispers, ‘What happened?’

‘How did you overhear? Were we talking that loud?’ Charlie seems even more nervous, because she closes her laptop and starts pacing.

‘No. Not at all, werewolf hearing’ he clarifies, causing her to give him a shocked look.

‘Seriously? Are all werewolves in this town kids?’ she sounds appaled, ‘What the fuck is wrong with that alpha?’

‘Peter was pretty fucked up’ Stiles says, ‘Our new alpha is better.’

‘Better?’ Scott raises an eyebrow at him, flashing his eyes red so Charlie can’t see.

‘Yeah, he’s the best’ he grins at his friend for a second before turning back to Charlie, ‘Look. We got this! I’ll talk to my dad and we’ll have this straightened out in no time. I promise. You just work on the plan, I’ll prepare the talk with Tiana.’

‘Tara’s sister?’ Scott bites his lip, ‘I hope you’re not waiting around with that.’

‘What do you mean?’ he asks, not sure what his friend is talking about, ‘We’re talking to her tonight, well, after school. I’m skipping lacrosse practice.’

‘Good. Cause she’s moving next week’ he explains, ‘She’s a nurse, works with my mom. She told me about it.’

‘Okay, so tonight’s the night. Has to happen tonight’ their new friend starts biting her nails, ‘No problem, right?’

‘Not a problem at all’ Scott places his arm around Stiles’ shoulders, ‘I have complete faith in my friend. He can do this. And I’ll go with, I can help.’

‘Good. Do we need to tell the rest of the pack?’ Stiles asks, Scott shakes his head.

‘Nope, we got this’ he smiles again, ‘I have complete faith in you.’

~~~~~~~~~~

Okay. So maybe it wasn’t as easy as anticipated. And maybe they took almost two hours before actually finding the badge. But it went pretty well – all things considered – if you look back on it.

As it turned out, Scott and Tiana had some history. Sure, she used to babysit Stiles. But she also watched Scott a lot when his asthma attacks landed him in the hospital. So the conversation went well, mostly sharing anecdotes. Like the time she’d caught Stiles snooping through his dad’s files when he was 10. Or when Scott had gotten an asthma attack when a girl had said he was cute.

After an hour of talking he’d gotten a text from Malia telling him to stall a bit more, because she couldn’t find it right away. Even though he’d given her something to get a scent from, but since she was close to moving a lot of it was in boxes.

_It’s in the living room, can you get her out?_

He looks at the text, showing it to Scott when Tiana turns around for a second.

‘Looks like you’ve still got a lot of work’ Scott says, looking around the place, ‘I’m not busy or anything. We can help you pack!’

‘Honestly?’ she smiles, ‘That’d be great. Would you mind helping me get some boxes from the bedroom downstairs?’

‘Yeah, sure’ Stiles smiles as the two friends get up, ‘No problem.’

About five minutes after they get up the stairs to help he gets another text from Malia saying she found the item. Of course by then, they can’t just say _ok, bye_ and leave. So they stay and help for another hour before leaving and meeting up with the girls.

~~~~~~~~~~

‘Okay, so all we have to do now is burn it. Right?’ Scott asks. They’re standing together in the parking lot of the motel. It’s already dark outside, and it looks like it might start raining any minute now.

‘Yes, salt and burn’ Charlie says, pulling out her lighter.

‘You want the honors?’ she asks, turning towards Stiles. He shakes his head.

‘No’ he sighs, ‘You can do it.’

‘Okay’ she nods, tossing the badge down and covering it in salt and burning it. It’s anticlimactic, to be honest. There’s a gush of wind, but no screaming or slamming doors. Nothing special at all.

‘So’ Charlie sighs, looking at the burnt badge, ‘Anything else you need help with?’

‘No’ Scott smiles, ‘Thanks for helping, though. But I’ve got it from here.’

‘You do?’ she grins, ‘I got to say. It’s still weird to see teenage werewolves. Kinda curious about that Alpha you keep talking about. Must be some poece of work.’

‘Nah’ Scott grins, ‘I wouldn’t call me a piece of work. But I guess some people would disagree to that.’

‘Wait – what?’ she turns towards him, as Malia wraps her arm around Stiles’ waist and hugs him, ‘You’re the Alpha?’

‘Yeah. The one and only’ he grins again, ‘When will you be leaving?’

‘Tonight’ she looks around for a moment, ‘Don’t get me wrong. This place is special. But I’d rather skip this place as soon as possible. Something tells me strangers don’t survive for long in this town.’

‘Only the bad guys’ Malia says, ‘It was nice meeting you. Good luck.’

‘Yeah. You too, guys’ she smiles, she had already packed up and her car was ready to go.

‘Thanks’ Stiles smiles as she steps into her car, ‘Say hi to the Winchesters, will you?’

‘Sure enough.’

And then she drives off.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it :)


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